Rating: PG-13 | Runtime: 124 minutes
Release Date: May 7th, 2010 (USA)
Studio: Marvel Studios / Paramount Pictures
Director(s): Jon Favreau
Writer(s): Justin Theroux / Stan Lee, Don Heck, Larry Lieber & Jack Kirby (comics/characters)

We don’t all run on batteries, Tony.

The first Iron Man was a breath of fresh air when it came out in 2008. That was the year The Dark Knight showed audiences how morosely ambitious a comic book story could be alongside the more serious tales of humanity that X-Men and Spider-Man delivered. Sure, there were a couple blips on the radar via Fantastic Four, but those were merely campy and pulpy because the story wasn’t strong enough to be anything else.

It was Marvel’s risk-taking to give such a huge tentpole film to an unproven, small-scale indie darling like Jon Favreau and the loose cannon yet perfect choice for the titular hero in Robert Downey Jr. that bridged the gap to create an amalgam of everything we love about comics. The humor was there. The technology we could only dream about was literally at the characters’ fingertips. And the moral quandaries of war, peace, and everything in the gray area between were delved into rather than left to suffer behind easier, clichéd superhero tropes. Iron Man’s tone was just what theatergoers needed. A cocktail that was able to reach the masses and entertain everyone.

Like all successful first installments to inevitable franchises, however, the sequel wore its burdens around its neck during development. Iron Man 2 was ready to unleash what the Tony Stark fanboys everywhere remembered reading about. A hero unafraid to throw caution to the wind and tell the world who he really was. A perpetual party boy who plays hard and even harder after that. This film was to be the one that showed the toll inherent to the pressures of being a self-made deity. And to make those hardships direr, it would provide a villain worthy of shaking Stark from his resulting funk.

The filmmakers not only recruited Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko/Whiplash (an intriguing opponent that can cause some real damage), but they also brought in Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer (an arch nemesis on the research and development front). As for new partners on the side of good, we also get Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and an extensively longer cameo by eye-patched super-spy Nick Fury to let Sam Jackson earn his keep after signing that massive nine picture deal to come in and out of all Avengers-centric origin tales. Could it be too much too soon? I was certainly leaning that way after trailers debuted and early buzz disappointed.

Then I heard quotes on behalf of Favreau and company talking about how the film was for fans of the comic with the goal of ushering their viewers into the darkness at the center of Stark’s self-destruction. Still a vehicle for merchandising and as family-oriented as a PG-13 movie can prove since using alcoholism to bring the character to his knees would have been great for fans of dramatic gravitas while potentially alienating a large portion of the audience intended to make it a huge blockbuster. I’m okay with that, though. If I want to watch society in its disgustingly amoral authenticity, I’ll check out Chris Nolan’s work with Bruce Wayne.

Marvel instead keeps those themes intact while making the descent more accessible for a wider range of ages. Stark therefore becomes addicted to an antioxidant drink of sorts—a potion necessary to slow the poisoning of his blood at the hands of his palladium-powered heart. The one thing keeping him alive is also killing him. So, the prospect of Iron Man 2 isn’t so much about defeating Whiplash as it is using his existence as a catalyst to wake up and realize the true consequences of his actions. Not only will he die if he’s unable to find an alternate power source, but the peace created on behalf of fearing him would too. Without Iron Man holding court, every country creating its own tech will grab power and destroy the world.

In that regard, the story is adequate. Does it go anywhere, though? Nowhere besides the result of a brief evolution in Stark’s ego and self-worth. By wrapping up the exposition of his origin tale in its predecessor, I hoped for a bit more in terms of story progression. Instead we’re given what’s for all intents and purposes a bridge to whatever’s coming next, whether that’s Iron Man 3 or The Avengers. Stark needs to grow into the responsibilities of his new occupation as keeper of World Peace, yet he doesn’t quite get there by the end credits. With that said, don’t assume this is just wild special effects and overkill action scenes.

Yes, it is all those things, but it executes them deftly into decent entertainment. Seeing those holographic computer screens floating in mid-air and totally interactive with human touch will never grow old and the fight choreography is pretty impressive. Favreau and company realize that one of this franchise’s strengths lies in the charismatically narcissistic Downey Jr. at the center. We enjoy catching Iron Man kicking butt, but it’s the snide retorts and one-liners of the man inside the suit that we truly love. So, even when engaged in a huge fight, we are always shown his exposed face when on the ropes or engaged within the helmet with superimposed computer graphics.

The thing that holds a character like The Hulk back is its lack of human connection due to being fully computer-generated. We never lose that biological core of the actors onscreen here. Downey Jr. is as good as ever and his spiral into depression and uncertainty only gives him room to be more enthralling. I enjoyed the expanded role of Don Cheadle’s recast Rhodes to slowly warm Stark to the idea of a partner through aggressively forceful “tough love.” And Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts, although taking a backseat, resonates with her determination and will to succeed by showing exactly what it is Stark sees in her.

John Slattery is spot-on casting as Poppa Howard in archived footage doing what he does on “Mad Men” each week. Johansson is very much kept to the fringes while delivering some slick fight moves. Rourke is fantastic once again as the tattooed genius heathen coaxing Stark back to life while trying to destroy him. And Rockwell couldn’t be better as Hammer—a mirror image of Stark in every way besides being hilariously unsuccessful, unlikable, and vindictive. Favreau’s small role as bodyguard and driver Happy Hogan also gets expanded, making his appearance much more relevant than in the first.

So, while the story is weaker as far as growth and weight, Iron Man 2 makes up for it in sheer enjoyment. Bigger, louder, and more explosive in every way, the film is just as fun as the first and should be appreciated as such in the scope of the series. Development for guys like Whiplash and Hammer are almost nonexistent, but we figure they will either die or become more important in later installments anyway. The film is less a standalone story than an integral cog in the machine Marvel Films has been building with the hope of culminating into a massive collaboration with every superhero entity working side by side—talk about a recipe for disaster.

I was never bored, loved the faux scientific breakthroughs like the creation of a brand new element, and felt the adrenaline rush with every battle regardless of size. Stan Lee’s characters are once again getting king-like treatment in their adaptations to live action cinema. I don’t think he’d continue showing face if he didn’t think so. He surely could have stayed home and paid the real Larry King to do his cameo otherwise.

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Gwyneth Paltrow (left) stars as Pepper Potts and Robert Downey Jr. (right) stars as billionaire industrialist Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, in IRON MAN 2.